


all that glitters

by blackkat



Series: Horoscope Drabbles [22]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Magical Realism, Multi, Resurrection, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: Carefully, delicately, Kushina stitches him back together.





	all that glitters

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Normal Horoscopes on Tumblr: 
> 
> Cancer: A dead queen, but a queen nonetheless. Clothing covered in shimmering azure beads. Exposed bone and fossilized flesh deftly manipulate sewing needles made from her fathers ribs.

 Carefully, delicately, Kushina stitches him back together.

It’s long, arduous work, but Kushina supposes most things that matter are. Her fingers are bone and fossilized flesh, deft and swift, but it still takes care. A warrior’s spirit can be torn, can fade under an incautious stitch, and she can't allow that. Not after all the work it took to retrieve this one.

Minato leans over her shoulder, arms loose around her shoulders, and rests his cheek against her hair as she works. “He’s a tenacious one,” he says, and reaches down, skimming a featherlight touch across cold skin, tracing eyes wide and staring in death.

Kushina laughs, tips her head to rest their temples together. “He’s going to be a masterpiece,” she says warmly, and shows Minato the fragments of his soul, almost fully strung back together. When he makes an admiring noise, she resettles it in her lap, strokes their prize’s cheek. “Madara doesn’t know what he was throwing away, when he let this one go.”

“More for us,” Minato says cheerfully, kisses the curve of her throat, and moves around to sit at the foot of her throne, stretching his legs out to rest his boots on one of the lower stairs.

Kushina makes a rude noise, because Minato knows her opinion of the warrior king and his armies. “He doesn’t bother to remake things,” she says derisively. “All it takes is a little extra work, and then things last forever.”

Minato touches the body sprawled across her lap, picks up a limp hand. Sword calluses, Kushina knows­—Zabuza was one of Madara's best warriors until he died, and then Madara just cast him aside. A waste, in her opinion, or maybe just laziness. Stupid, either way. But it’s earned her another general, so she’s hardly about to complain.

“It will be nice to have him here again,” Minato says, a little wistfully. “He was so cute before.”

With a laugh, Kushina lays the last stitch, then pulls the bone needle free. “He was,” she agrees. “Even Madara can't have ruined all of that. We’ll make sure he remembers.” He came to their bed once before, after all, was reluctant to leave, but went regardless when Madara called him back. Dutiful, and Kushina likes that in a man. Likes it even more in a general. This time, though, _they're_ going to be his duty.

“Up,” she says, nudging Minato with the toe of her slippers, and he laughs but gets to his feet, scooping Zabuza up in his arms with a faint sound of effort that Kushina knows is mostly for show. She kisses him in thanks regardless, and with a happy hum Minato heads down the stairs, carrying Zabuza’s body to the black stone table in the center of the room. Rings of golden seals cover the floor beneath it, and there's one of inlayed bloodstone in the dark surface, glowing in the dim light.

Carefully gathering Zabuza’s golden soul in her arms, Kushina rises and follows, the skirts of her gown skimming the floor with a whisper like distant voices. The weight of it would be surprising if it were anyone other than Zabuza, but Kushina has felt his soul before, and it’s a heavy, steady thing, ragged around the edges, tattered at the seams, but full of something that can't be tarnished.

She raises it over the body Minato has laid out, hums a note and feels the universe answer. The lights swim, and she opens her arms, lets the golden shroud tumble down, sliding back into Zabuza’s body like water into sand. The bone needle, carved from one of her father’s ribs, flickers white as she raises it, and she says, “ _Hold_ ,” fierce and ow before she stabs it down, driving it deep into Zabuza’s chest.

There's a cry, choked, desperate. Zabuza’s eyes fly open, his body arching, and then he’s flinging himself off the table, like he’s going to bolt. Kushina grabs him before he can, seizes his arms and drags him close and pulls him down, and they collapse to the floor together as Zabuza’s legs give out. He lets out a hoarse cry, but Kushina wraps her arms around him, lets him collapse against her chest, and holds him as he shakes.

“Shh,” she whispers, against his ear, and kisses his cheek. “Shh, shh, there we go, you're all right.”

There's a moment of silent confusion before Zabuza raises his head. His expression is twisted, caught between relief and the fading edges of fear, and he asks, “Queen Kushina?”

Kushina laughs gently, presses the tips of their noses together in a butterfly kiss. “I think we can do away with formality, sweetheart,” she says, fingers finding the white scar on his chest where the needle went in, right above his heart. “Since you’ve seen me naked and all.”

Zabuza flushes, just a little, though that could be because Minato is pressing up against his back, sliding his arms around him as well until he’s caught between them. “I—I died,” he says. A hand comes up, finding the long scar where Kushina stitched his body back together, tracing the length of it. “Kakashi—”

Minato makes a sound of amusement, burying his face in Zabuza’s shoulder and kissing his skin softly. “We trained him well,” he says. “And it got you out of Madara's service, so it’s for the better, isn't it?”

There's a moment of stunned silence, then a breath that shakes with relief. “Really?” Zabuza asks.

“Really,” Kushina promises, and cups his face in her hands. She meets dark eyes squarely, smoothing her fingertips over his cheekbones, and smiles. “Your death fulfilled the contract, and we brought you back. You don’t _have_ to stay with us just for that, but—”

“We’d like you to,” Minato finishes for her, and rises up on his knees, tips Zabuza’s head around so he can meet his eyes. “I think you can be a good man, if you're given the chance. And we want to help you.”

“I need a loyal general,” Kushina adds with a winsome smile that quickly breaks into a grin. “What do you think, Zabuza?”

Zabuza looks from her to Minato and back. “Haku?” he asks.

“In the suite three doors down from our room,” Kushina answers promptly. “He likes all the wildlife around the castle.”

Zabuza’s laugh is rough. “I bet he does,” he says, and doesn’t bother adding what they all know; if Minato and Kushina had promised to bring Zabuza back to life, Haku would do anything for them, follow them anywhere, give them anything.

Of course, Kushina knows full well that the reverse is true, too. They took care of Haku, and even though they didn’t do it just to sway Zabuza, it certainly doesn’t hurt.

She leans in, rests her forehead against Zabuza’s, and meets his eyes again. “Stay,” she says softly, and she knows how the rest of the world sees her court, sees _her_ ; she’s a dead queen, ruling over a dark sea and a lightless island, and her carefully recreated subjects inspire fear and loathing. But she doesn’t see any of that in Zabuza’s face, just gratitude.

“All right,” Zabuza says, and Kushina kisses him, overjoyed, laughing.

 _Thank you_ , she doesn’t say, but then, she doesn’t have to.


End file.
